Building covering member



July 49 i939. SNYDER 2,164,725

BUILDING COVERING MEMBER y Filed NOV. l5, 1957 Ill/lllfllllIlIlIII/Ill(INVENTOR. ff 4 6455er S/vrDf-e.'

ATTORNEYS.

Patented July 4, 1939 PATENT OFFICE BUILDING;` COVERING MEMBER GilbertSnyder, South Bend, Ind., assignor to Mastic Asphalt Corporation, SouthBend, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Application November 15, 1937,Serial No. 174,597

- 11 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in building covering members, andparticularly to material of this character comprising a panel of rigidcomposition board of compressed cellulose bers coated with waterproofmaterial and surfaced to simulate the'appearance and texture of asection of a masonry wall.

rl`he use of this type of building covering material has provensuccessful by reason of its substantially permanent decorative exterior,insulating properties, and other desirable characteristics. However,considerable care must be exercised to insure proper application thereofto a building by reason of certain of its character- 15 istics. Thus, inapplying the material, which is commonly nailed to place, with the nailpiercing the waterproof vouter protective coating, it is essential thatlthe nail head and nail hole be thoroughly sealed to prevent seepage ofwater about the nail and past the waterproofing material to thecomposition board. -This for the reason that the composition board ishighly porous and absorptive, and swells, weakens anddeteriorates whenwet. Another condition to which members of this character have beensubject, is the driving of a nail too deeply into the board which is ofsubstantially laminated compressed fibrous character and contains nobinder or like medium to afford homogeneity and strength. Thus a naildriven too deep tends to rupture the board. Still another condition towhich such members are subject is the absence of any substantialmechanical or friction bond between the panel and a nail, by reason ofthe structural character of the composition board which makes eiiectivesecuring of the member difficult and endangers the seal effected bycoating the nail head. Likewise, the character of the composition boardrequires close spacing of nails to insure solid securing of each panelto the frame.

It is, therefore, the primary object of this invention to provide abuilding covering member wherein the aforementioned difficulties areeliminated and the product is constructed to minimize possibility offailure.

A further object is to provide a building member of this characterprovided with pre-formed nail holes.

A further object is to provide a building member of this characterhaving a base of composition board provided with preformed nail holesand saturated with waterproong material adjacent all surfaces thereofincluding the walls of sad nail holes.

A further object is to provide a composition board product of thischaracter of increased strength and rigidity and with insulating properties substantially unimpaired. A

A further object is to provide a building member of this charactercomprising a surface satu- 5 rated ccmpositionboard having preformednail holes, and a waterproof coating normally sealing the outer ends ofsaid nail holes.

A further object is to provide a building member having preformed nailholes sealed at their 10 outer ends, with means indicating the positionof said nail holes.

A further object is to provide a building member of this character whichis strong and thoroughly waterproof, which requires fewer nails, 15 andwhich will eiectlvely grip nails.

Other objects will be apparent from the description and appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1`is a face view of my improved building 20 member.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view taken on line A-A ofFig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view similar to Fig. 2 andillustrating the manner of 25 nailing the member.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view of the saturatedcomposition board base with a preformed nail hole.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view 30 similar to Fig. 2illustrating a modified construction of building member.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral I0 designates a building coveringmember having marginal ship lap flanges I I and a coated contoured 35face provided with longitudinal and transverse narrow elongateddepressions I2 arranged to simulate mortar joints and separating surfaceareas simulating masonry members such as bricks I3. 40

The member is preferably formed on a base best illustrated in Fig. 4,which constitutes a rigid panel I4 of composition board of compressedcellulose fibers, such as Celotex and the like. A plurality of spacednarrow holes I5 are formed 45 in and extend through the board I4 inpredetermined relation and arrangement. The lentire surface portion ofthe board' is saturated to a comparatively shallow depth with Waterproofmaterial such as asphalt I6, said saturant also 50 saturating the boardat I'I at the walls of each hole I5. Composition board is of compressedlaminated fibrous character whereby it has substantially greaterporosity at its edges than at its faces, whereby the transverselyextending satu 55 rated portions, as at I'I around holes I5 are ofgreater depth than face portions iii. This effectively reinforces theboard at its weakest points, as around ship lap flanges il, and alsoserves to form a binder for the laminations of the composition boardaround each nail hole. The saturant preferably penetrates to only ashallow depth sufficient to provide the improved structural andWaterproof characteristics without impairing the insulating propertiesof the composition board to any material extent.

The preferred composition board above described may be treated andfinished to provide any of several well known types of iinished product.One such type is illustrated in Fig. 2 wherein a continuous surfacelayer or coating I8 of asphalt or like waterproof material is applied toone face of the' preformed panel; and colored granular material or gritI9 is applied to coating I8. This coating is suitably pressed to providethe depressions I2 therein, and thus achieve the masonry simulation. Thedepressions are preferably located to coincide with the various holes l5in the board i4, and the formation thereof tends to iorce thecoatingmaterial into the upperends of holes i5 to a substantial extentat 20, as illustrated in Fig. 2. At the same time the depressions l2 are'ormed as by suitable dies, indentations 2l may be formed in coating i8in registering relation to the holes i5. In applying this type of memberto a building, the panel is applied dat against a building as againststudding, sheathing, siding or the like, and nails are driventherethrough at holes i5 and into the building. The nail heads seat indepressions and are completely protected and concealed by waterprooingmaterial at 2d.

Another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Fig. 5, whereinthe preformed partially saturated composition board i@ is illicwisecoated with a comparatively thin continuous layer i8 of adhesivewaterproof material sealing one end or" holes i5 at 2@ and indented at2l in registration with each hole i5. in this construction, however, thecoating l@ serves to cause thin slab units Z5 of brick, stone, asbestoscomposition or the like to adhere to the base in spaced patternedrelation. Nails are adapted to be driven through holes i5 in the spacesbetween slabs 25 to secure the unit to a building as heretoforedescribed, and the spaces then being lled with mortar or like material(not shown) which conceals the nails and completes the surface.

It will be seen that, with both above described types of construction,the nail pierces the portion 2U of coating I8 in holes i5 and passesthrough said holes in the member without ex posing or contacting anunsaturated portion oi the board. The increased depth of penetration ofthe saturant at areas il' around holes i5 insures against such Contactof the nails with unsaturated portions of the board even when the nailis driven at an angle to hole i5; and also serves as a reinforcement toprevent damage to the board if a nail is driven so deeply as to lodgeits head below the upper surface of the base. The nails employed arepreferably of slightly greater'thickness than the transverse dimensionof holes i 5 so as to insure a tight ht of the nails with the board, andthe saturant il around the holes I5 insures a binding or adhesivecontact as well as a frictional t between the nail and board. Inaddition, the saturation of portion I'i around the nail increases thestrength of the board where it is nailed and insures solid effectiveanchoring of the unit to the building when nailed. In this way fewernails are required to secure my improved member solidly to a buildingthan are required to secure a conventional unsaturated member of thesame character and size. Furthermore, in the event fewer nails areemployed than provided for, the unused nail holes I5 remain permanentlyand effectively sealed in weatherproof manner by portions 20 of coatingi8 at the outer ends of said holes, so that the presence of such holeswill not detract from the Weatherproof character` of the buildingmember. The indentations 2i which indicate the locations ofsuch unusednail holes are small and inconspicuous, and these factors coupled withthe location of the indentations in depressions i2 does not detract fromthe general appearance of the members and renders the presence of unusednail holes therein unnoticeable when said members are applied on abuilding. It will, of course, be understood that one of the primeadvantages of this construction is the retention of the insulating valueof the base by retaining the major portion thereof unsaturated, while atthe same time preventing moisture from entering the unsaturated interiorof the'body by way of the nail holes. T n this connection, it will benoted that the construction is particularly effective with the type ofconstruction shown in Fig. 5 where the slabs render each building unitquite heavy land nailing of the unit tends to de form the board aroundthe hole and to enlarge the hole by reason of said weight, all of whichis avoided by the saturation reinforcement of the base as described.Additionally, the Fig. 5 type of construction contemplates the use ofregular mortar between slabs without coating the nail heads, themoisture from the mortar thus being directly accessible the points ofnailing, so 'that any iooseness between nail and member in conventionalconstruction permits the moisture to enter the same, whereas all suchdangers are eliminated by the instant construction.

For the purpose of stabilizing the product, the saturating agentemployed is preferably an asphalt having a comparatively high melt pointand substantially free from volatile solvents, and the coating lil isformed oi like material. In this way all possibility of chemical actionbetween the coating and saturant, such as permeation of coating iii bysolvents which dilute the body thereof or impair the adhesive qualitiesthereof, is avoided.

Attention is also directed to the fact that, with respect to the featureof the tight sealed fit between the board and nails and the waterproofcharacter of the board around the nail, it is possible to avoid oreliminate use of coating 24 over the nail head in the Fig. 3 type ofconstruction, by using rust proof nails of the same color at their headsas the coloi` or coating i8, usually black. In other words, theconstruction is so sealed around the nail that protection of the boardby such coating is unnecessary, and the color problem for concealment ofthe nail is all that must be considered.

I claim:

l. A building covering member comprising a rigid composition boardhaving a plurality of small nailing passages extending therethrough atthe portion thereof which is exposed to the weather when applied, theportions of said board adjacent all exposed surfaces thereof includingthe wals of said passages being saturated to a shallow depth withwaterproofing material. a

continuous layer of waterproof material. covering the outer face ofvsaidr board, and surfacing material 'adhering to said layer. said layersealing the outer ends of said passages.

2- A building covering member comprising a rigid composition boardhaving a plurality of nail receiving passages extending therethrough,said board being impregnated to a shallow depth at all exterior surfacesthereof and at the walls of said passages by a waterproofing material,and `a continuous masonry simulating coating on one surface of saidboard sealing said passages, said coating having depressions simulatingmortar joints and positioned over said passages.

3. A member as defined in claim 2, including means for indicating theposition of each pas-` sage.

4. A member as dened in claim 2, wherein said coating is 4provided withan indentation therein above each passage.

5. A construction member adapted to be secured to a building by means ofa nail. comprising a composition board having a preformed nail 8l holeof smaller diameter than said nail extending therethrough. the portionof said board around said nail hole being saturated with wa- 8. Aconstruction member comprising a rigid composition board, having aplurality of restricted nail-receiving passages extending therethroughat the portion thereof exposed to the weather when applied, the portionsof said board .adjacent each exposed surface thereof and around eachpassage being saturated with waterproof material, the saturated portionsaround adjacent passages being spaced apart a distance much greater thantheir area whereby the major portion of the board is unsaturated and amasoniy-simulating coating covering the exposed face of said vboard.

9. A construction member comprising a rigid composition board having aplurality of nailreceiving passages extending therethrough, landIwaterproof material applied to the exposed surwhen applied, saidpassages being of a diameter substantially equal to the thickness of anail and a continuous masonry simulating waterproof plastic coating onone surface of said board, said coating extending into and filling theouter end of each passage. 4

11. A member as defined in claim 10, wherein said coating has portionssimulating mortar joints and positioned over said passages, and said.coating is indented in registration with each passae.l

GILBERT SNYDER.

